A couple who investigated a ditch in their backyard only to discover a dog's final resting place have gone viral after sharing the heartbreaking find online.
Sue Rose, who lives in Essex, U.K., shared the video of the dog grave discovery on TikTok in July. It has since been viewed over 300,000 times.
In the video, the couple shows just a few of the things they found during an investigation into the uneven ground. In the caption, the poster wrote: "We found a dog grave in the middle of our lawn."
Research shows that the loss of a pet can have just as severe a reaction on a person as losing a human family member.
One study investigating the grief response to the loss of a pet concluded that where a pet is considered a family member, death disrupts the lives of family members and family functioning as it would if a human family member had died.
Humans dealing with the loss of a pet have been recorded in dealing with disorganization, post-traumatic stress, depression, and anxiety, with evidence showing that pet grief can last as long as a year.
While the loss of a pet will be different for everyone, it is always likely to hit those with a strong relationship with their pet harder. Studies have reported that for some owners, their pets are the only reason they get up in the morning, and for people living alone their pets can be their main form of social interaction.
Rose told Newsweek: "At the beginning of the summer we were playing badminton in the garden and I noticed a ditch appearing on the lawn that was getting worse. When I stood on it, the ground started to fall in and my foot sunk into the hole. My husband dug down to see what was causing the issue and see that a hole was beneath the lawn."
As her husband began digging, Rose filmed the moment to try and capture the full extent of the damage and the reason for the unusual hole in the ground. But what they found next surprised them both.
"There was a box and the top had disintegrated and the earth was falling into the box," she explained: "It turned out to be a makeshift coffin. We found a dog toy and bowl, and then some remains that were clearly that of a dog."
Once they realized what they had uncovered, the couple carefully replaced the toy and bowl and packed out the rest of the hole so it would not collapse again.
"It was very upsetting as we are both animal lovers," said Rose.
In over 1,000 comments, viewers of the now-viral video were quick to share their thoughts on the unusual find.
"That was someone's best friend," said one TikTok user, while another commenter wrote: "As a dog owner myself, this had me sobbing."
When Rose explained in the later comments that they had carefully replaced everything they found and ensured it would remain safely undisturbed, commenters on the video praised the couple.
"The respect you have for the lost fur babies resting place is beautiful," said one reply.
Another commenter wrote: "Aww bless you that you saved his resting place instead of your lawn."
"The reaction on TikTok was unexpected," said Rose. "But the majority of comments were lovely and understanding, especially once people realized that we had done the right thing by not disturbing it once we knew what had happened."
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Alice Gibbs is a Newsweek Senior Internet Trends & Culture Reporter based in the U.K. For the last two years ... Read more
